The American Lawyer - The Asian Lawyer, Winter 2012

to employ, as they are generally paid less than foreigners and do not receive housing allowances and other typical expat benefits, no small expense in a city famous for its sky-high cost of living. On the other hand, bengoshi at foreign firms face more direct competition from Japanese firms, particularly the Tokyo-based Big Four of Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, Nishimura & Asahi, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, and Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, whose billing rates can be as much as 30 percent lower.

That rebalancing is no doubt helped by the fact that
since the earthquake, more expats actually want to leave
Though he himself remains committed to the market,
Sneider says the earthquake was probably the final push for
some expats who were already working a great deal outside
Japan. “Part of their job was here and part of it elsewhere,
but they liked living in Japan,” he says. “After the earth-
quake, there was less incentive for them to stay.”
SUCH DEPARTURES UNDERLINE ONE LESSON
of the last few years for international firms: To make it in
Japan, they cannot count solely on their base of interna-
tional clients.